There are many fields, such as entertainment, academics, business, health care, etc., that utilize media having time based streams of information. These time-based streams of information may be in the form of full motion images, e.g. video and movies; audio, e.g. music, sound effects, and voice/narration; motion graphics, e.g. animation; still images, e.g. text, pictures; and combinations thereof. The information is usually comprised of a stream of individual units, e.g. frames or blocks. Frequently, this information is in a digital format and resides on any of a number of conventional electronic mediums.
Oftentimes, the time-based information is assembled into a presentation through the use of a processing system to edit the information. For example, a video may be edited and combined with audio, text, effects and/or graphics to create a presentation. A “presentation” is any changed version of an original time-based stream of information or a modified copy of the original information. In addition, a “presentation” also may further be defined by at least one instruction for representing the original information in a changed form. In such an instruction-based presentation, the information is communicated in the manner according to the instruction. For instance, a software program may include directions on how a digital video should be played, where only certain frames of a video are chosen for display.
Digital editing typically is performed in a processing system and involves random retrieval of information from storage, communication of the information, e.g. display on a monitor, and manipulation of the information to produce the desired presentation. A portion or portions of sequential information, also referred to as a “clip,” such as a continuum of segments, frame, block or footage, may be rearranged into a desired order. Typically, the presentation appears as a seamless flow of the edited information. Editing may further entail removing portions of clips. During editing, particular “edit features” may be added to the presentation, such as transitions between clips, special effects (e.g., black and white, brightness, contrast, texture, echoes, compositing, blurring, etc.), text, graphics, black background, silent audio segments, combinations of different types of time-based streams of information, such as audio and still images, and the like. Various types of editing may be performed as new techniques for altering raw information are created.
Traditionally, editing of multimedia to produce presentations involved complex techniques performed by trained professionals. However, recently novice users have become interested in making presentations, as well. There has been increasing popularity in the processing of multimedia to produce sophisticated home movies, web sites, business presentations, amateur movies, etc.
Given the currently diverse level of skills among authors of presentations, it is desirable to provide processing a system that is easy and convenient to operate. Such a system should require less hands-on activity of the user and have a simple user interface display.
Although previous authoring systems provide for varying levels of ease for the novice user, there are still several drawbacks to these systems. Some prior systems include Studio DV from Pinnacle Systems Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.; Avid Cinema® from Avid Technology, Inc. of Tewksbury, Mass.; Adobe Premier® from Adobe of San Jose, Calif.; Dazzle* Digital Video Creator™ from Dazzle Multimedia of Fremont, Calif.; and DVgate™ from Sony Corporation of Tokyo, Japan.
In general, processing systems require that the time based stream of information be captured from a media source and entered into the system. The information and the newly created presentation are stored within memory of the system.
The time based streams of information entered into the processing system consume an enormous amount of storage space within the system. For long presentations, such as business presentations or short film, the typical processing system provides an insufficient amount of storage space. For example, a 9 gigabytes hard drive that handles a sustained throughput of 5-7 megabytes/sec permits approximately a mere 40 minutes of video to be stored. Thus, it would be useful for a processing system to include enough storage space for a given presentation.
Typically, the presentation is in the form of references that correspond to the stored information. The references have instructions on handling the information. These processing systems permit the user to control what is viewed in the presentation by moving the in and out points in the references to indicate the segments of information that are to be accessed. Thus, a presentation may include instructions regarding the portion of the information in which output is to begin and the portion of the information where the output is to cease. For example, the references may direct the select portions of the information that are to be included in the presentation. The references also may include edit features to be added to the presentation. In these instruction-based processing systems a user's edit choices are embodied by the references.
Through a user interface, reference elements that represent selected clips that are to be included in a presentation are moved on the screen and displayed along extended windows, referred to as time lines or tracks. Such time lines represent the time course of a presentation and the position of each reference element on the time line dictates the order of the associated clip and edit feature in the presentation. Simple mechanisms to reposition the references onto appropriate positions of the screen would be beneficial for the user.
Prior systems generally have complicated user interfaces for edit of the time based stream of information. These processing systems display multiple time lines or tracks, where each time line is for the individual types of edit features to be included in a presentation. The separate time lines are usually oriented in parallel to each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a user interface 1 has a first time line 2 that contains a sequence of original clips (1-3) 3 along the first 3.00 minutes of the presentation. A second time line 4 has a clip with an edit feature 5 in the form of text at minute 3.00 to 4.00. A third time line 6 has a clip with a special effect 7 at position 4.00 to 5.00 minute. These processing systems combines the information positioned along all of the time lines to form the presentation. Thus, in creating the presentation, the user works on each separate time line window for each type of attribute of the presentation. Where there is no single time line that integrates all attributes of the presentation, the user must mentally combine to all of the time lines to determine what the final presentation will be like.
A problem with these prior user interfaces is that the compounded time lines complicate the editing process for the user. In addition, the display of multiple time lines wastes screen real estate that may be better served to display other useful editing tools. Moreover, the data included in each time line is typically stored in separate areas of storage within the processing system. Thus, multiple time lines pointlessly consume precious storage space.
In light of the shortcomings of the various currently available systems, there is still a need for creating a presentation of a time based stream of information in a manner that is quick and easy to perform. In particular, there is a desire for a processing system that has a simple user interface that provides efficient use of screen display and storage by providing a single time line for editing of presentations. The system should also encompass convenient mechanisms to move data on the screen display.